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First Lady and Dr. Biden Urge Action from State Governors on Military Spouse Hiring

First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden discuss military spouse employment at the National Governors Association annual meeting in the State Dining Room of the White House, Feb. 27, 2012. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)

Earlier this morning, the First Lady and Dr. Jill Biden addressed the National Governors Association (NGA) Winter Meeting, the annual meeting that brings state leaders to Washington, D.C. to discuss important issues impacting all Americans.

Today, the First Lady and Dr Biden had one message for the governors: urging them to take action on the state level to support America’s military spouses. 

In their travels to military bases across America and throughout the world over the last three years, the First Lady and Dr. Biden have heard stories from countless military family members and spouses.  One of the top issues they hear about everywhere they go deals with the professional licensing requirements that affect how military spouses can move forward in their careers. 

Less than two weeks ago, the First Lady and Dr. Biden joined the Secretary of Defense, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and all of the Joint Chiefs in rolling out a new report on state licensing.   

This is an enormous issue for military spouses throughout this country. There are more than 100,000 military spouses who serve in the dozens of professions that require a state license or credential – teachers, nurses, childcare providers, dental hygienists, real estate brokers, speech pathologists and many other professionals. Each move to a new state can mean different credentialing or licensing standards – a process that can sometimes take months to resolve.  

As part of their address to military families and Pentagon leadership, the First Lady and Dr. Biden announced an ambitious goal: for 50 states to pass legislation that supports military spouse license portability by 2014. 

President Obama Highlights Smart Energy Training at University of Miami

Ed note: this post originally appeared on energy.gov

During his visit to Florida yesterday, President Obama highlighted the University of Miami's Industrial Assessment Center (IAC) as a smart and important piece of the administration's "all-of-the-above" approach to domestic energy sources.

In September of last year, the Energy Department gave 24 universities a total of $30M in grants to help train the next generation of industrial energy-efficiency experts. Each school will receive $200,000 to $300,000 per year for up to 5 years to train students on core energy management concepts. The teams conduct energy assessments in a broad range of manufacturing facilities, which prepare students to compete in today's economy while helping local companies and factories reduce energy waste, save money, and become more competitive.

As President Obama said yesterday, "We're taking a step that will make it easier for companies to save money by investing in energy solutions that have been proven here at the University of Miami -- new lighting systems; advanced heating and cooling systems that can lower a company's energy bills and make them more competitive."  

Since the Industrial Assessment Center program began in 1976, university teams have conducted more than 15,000 energy assessments at U.S. manufacturing plants nationwide. To date, more than 3,000 students have graduated from the Industrial Assessment Center program, with more than 60 percent going on to careers in the energy industry. Critically, these assessments have helped save over 530 trillion BTUs of energy -- enough to meet the energy needs of 5.5 million American homes -- and have helped participating manufacturers save more than $5.6 billion in energy costs.

We Can’t Wait: Bringing New Investments to Rural Communities by Leveraging Existing Programs

Since the formation of the White House Rural Council in June 2011, we have had a unique opportunity to provide recommendations on how to grow the economy and create jobs in rural America.    

The feedback we’re providing to the White House, based on our travels throughout the countryside, has helped us find creative ways to move the country forward without relying on Congress to act because rural Americans can’t wait.

Today's announcements are the result of the Rural Council’s ability to cut across large federal agencies to deliver results for rural families and businesses.  Along with colleagues at the Departments of Commerce, Health and Human Services, and Labor, we announced three new ways to leverage existing programs and funding to drive economic growth in rural communities.

These announcements include:

• Promoting A Bioeconomy:  President Obama issued a Presidential Memorandum today directing the federal government to dramatically increase the purchase of biobased products over the next two years, which will create jobs and drive innovation where biobased products are grown and manufactured.  The biobased products sector marries the two most important economic engines for rural America: agriculture and manufacturing.  
• Rural Jobs Accelerator: We are launching a national competition, providing about $15 million for projects that promote innovation-fueled regional job creation.  The competition will combine funding from USDA, the Economic Development Administration, Delta Regional Authority and the Appalachian Regional Commission. USDA will utilize our Rural Community Development Initiative program to support this effort and provide technical assistance and training funds to qualified intermediary organizations to develop their capacity to undertake housing, community facilities, and community and economic development projects in rural areas.  
• Rural Health IT Workforce:  The Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Labor signed a memorandum of understanding to connect community colleges and technical colleges that support rural communities with the materials and resources they need to support the training of Health Information Technology (HIT) professionals that work in rural hospitals and clinics.  

Click here to learn more about the efforts of the White House Rural Council.

Enforcing Trade Agreements Protects Jobs

Last Friday, President Obama traveled to the Boeing aerospace factory in Everett, Washington. He met with workers and discussed his blueprint for an economy built to last with the renewed strength of American manufacturing. Part of the President’s message will focus on the Administration’s commitment to strong enforcement of U.S. trade agreements. The enforcement of trade agreements is vital to the success of large U.S. exporters like Boeing, as well as hundreds of firms of every size throughout Boeing’s global supply chain. 

Here in the United States, from Washington to Kansas to South Carolina, tens of thousands of Americans depend on Boeing and its suppliers for a job and a place to put their skills to work. Trade agreements that guarantee a level playing field for global competition help make it possible for Boeing to sell its airplanes around the world in support of jobs here at home.   

Boeing, like other American companies, knows from experience the importance of strong trade enforcement. For many years, the EU and its various member states provided Airbus, Boeing’s main global competitor, with more than $18 billion in subsidies. As a result, Boeing has been competing on an un-level playing field – losing market share and possible job-creating opportunities.  

Fortunately, last year the Obama Administration secured a victory against EU subsidies to Airbus. It was the largest verdict in the history of the World Trade Organization.  USTR is currently working to ensure that the EU implements the necessary changes and stops the illegal subsidies. Once implemented, this decision will lead to a more level playing field for Boeing and its many suppliers across America who support well-paying jobs for tens of thousands of hard-working Americans. 

Chart of the Day: Another Milestone in the Resurgence of the American Auto Industry

Today, we learned that each of the Big Three automakers posted a yearly profit for 2011. For the first time since 2004, all of those companies are operating in the black. 

But those aren’t the only milestones we’ve seen recently in the resurgence of the American auto industry. Or in the comeback of the American manufacturing sector. 

The January 2012 jobs report released earlier this month included another little-noticed milestone. The number of auto industry jobs added since GM and Chrysler emerged from bankruptcy after June 2009 now exceeds 200,000 — marking the strongest period of auto jobs growth since the late 1990s. That positive trend is particularly strong in the motor vehicle and parts manufacturing sector, which has added 121,900 jobs – a nearly 20 percent increase – since June 2009. And that growth is particularly notable given that some experts estimated that at least 1 million jobs could have been lost if GM and Chrysler had been liquidated.

Vice President Biden’s Turn to Host Vice President Xi of China in the U.S.

Vice President Joe Biden talks with Chinese Vice President Xi and former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger during a luncheon at the State Department, in Washington, DC, February 14, 2012. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann)

Yesterday, at the invitation of Vice President Biden, Vice President Xi Jinping of the People’s Republic of China spent the morning at the White House for a series of meetings with President Obama, Vice President Biden, and other Administration officials. Vice President Xi’s visit to the United States this week – which includes stops in Washington, D.C., Iowa and California – is the second of the planned reciprocal visits between the Vice Presidents announced by President Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao during President Hu’s state visit to Washington last year. 

Welcoming Vice President Xi to the Roosevelt Room in the West Wing of the White House, Vice President Biden reflected on his four-day visit to China last August. “As we discussed in my visit to China, this bilateral relationship is one of the most important in the world… important not only to both our countries but to the world at large,” he said. 

From the White House, the Vice Presidents continued on to the State Department for a lunch in Vice President Xi’s honor, co-hosted by Secretary Clinton. Over 200 guests enjoyed Asian-inspired dishes prepared by acclaimed Chinese-American chef Ming Tsai. 

“Few other nations in history have come so far, so fast, and it’s a great credit to the talent and industriousness of the Chinese people,” Vice President Biden said in his remarks. 

An America Built to Last: Strengthening Economic Security in Retirement

In his State of the Union message last week, President Obama laid out a blueprint for an America that’s built to last—where hard work pays off and responsibility is rewarded. Today, the Departments of Treasury and Labor are taking steps to strengthen economic security for our nation’s seniors by giving Americans greater investment information and access to more choices to plan for a secure retirement. These steps will be of particular importance to women, who tend to live longer and have fewer retirement assets and lower retirement income than men. 

The Department of Labor is taking action to require 401(k) plan providers to better disclose the cost and nature of the services they provide, while Treasury and the IRS are announcing steps that will ease regulatory barriers in the market for annuities and other forms of lifetime income. The Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) has prepared a detailed report describing the significance of today’s actions, which can be accessed here. 

Today’s announcements complement previous Administration initiatives to make retirement more secure for American families. In September 2009, President Obama announced expanded opportunities for automatic enrollment in retirement savings plans. The President has also championed an automatic IRA legislative proposal through which tens of millions of workers without access to a workplace retirement plan would be automatically enrolled in IRAs through payroll deposit contributions, while remaining free to opt out. And the Administration has proposed easing requirements on the timing and amount of distributions from retirement accounts for many retirees, reducing the compliance burden and providing elderly Americans with greater control over their retirement assets.  

Americans Tell President Obama What $40 Means

President Obama today asked Americans to share their stories, and tell him what losing $40 per paycheck would mean to their family. Thousands responded, sending us photos, tweets, and emails that illustrate just how important decisions made in Washington are to regular people across the country.

At the end of this month, a two-month extension of the payroll tax cut will expire. If Congress doesn't act, taxes will go up on 160 million hardworking Americans. For a family making about $50,000 a year, the payroll tax cut amounts to about $1,000 a year, or about $40 in every paycheck.  It may not seem like a lot of money to some people, but for the people who wrote to us today, that money can make a big difference. Here are some of their stories:

Please, consider that many people like my family live by paycheck only, we cannot even have extra money for emergencies, because living life in this country is so expensive that our paycheck goes to pay rent, bills, and food, and sometimes we don't even have for food. So, please DO NOT take that extra $40.00 taxes cut from our paycheck. -- Brenda from California

To me and my family, $40 is the difference between opportunity and misfortune. When you include registration fees, uniforms, and expenses for equipment, travel and food, extracurricular activities alone can exceed $40 a paycheck (particularly if that money is divided over more than one child). Activities like baseball, martial arts, or community theater are far too important to children's health, development, and well-being to not be apart of their lives. But when it comes down to paying bills and for essentials or extracurricular activities, all one can say is "sorry kids, no baseball this year"! -- Eric from South Carolina

With my paycheck being the sole source of income for our family, $40 means EVERYTHING to us.  Having $40 means we can afford groceries in those last few days before my next paycheck so we won't go hungry.  It means I can put a FEW gallons of gas in my car to make it to work for the next few days. It means I can afford a copay should my son need to see a doctor.  It means we MAY be able to afford a prescription should we be prescribed one.  We have done a short sale on our home, cut our budgets back to bare minimum, have relinquished all luxuries in our life but, yet still get up each day with the hope of something better. So, what does $40 mean to me?  It means the difference between a healthy happy family that can sleep at night with a full stomach or having to tell my son that we may all have to go to bed hungry. -- Amanda from Virginia

$40.00 means the world to my family and I. When the paycheck ends before the second week has begun, $40 is the difference between paying the mortgage or the light bill.  We don't live beyond our means, our cars are paid for. We remodel our home, and maintain the cars ourselves and we work hard for what we have.  For Thanksgiving we hosted over 40 friends and relatives.  Not because we had that luxury, but because we invited everyone to bring a dish because we knew they couldn't afford the entire meal.  We never thought we would get so many.  Too many of our friends and family members have been devastated by the current economic downfall of this country.  Many own/owned their own business and all are hard working decent Americans.  Many, like myself, worked or were/are affiliated with both state and federal government agencies.  We know all too well about politics and government spending.  Some of our friends and associates  are very wealthy and continue to be compensated far too well.  $40 for us, that's $960 for the year or groceries for three months, five months of electric bills.  When you're financially capable, $40 dollars is a night out at the movies, but for us and too many Americans, it is groceries for three months.  

Now with 10 grandchildren, our 6 kids still respectfully rely on our support from time to time.  We remember when we could hand them $40 each to go to the movies with high school friends on a Saturday.  Now, $40 assists them with groceries for the week. We continue to motivate them, and we try to keep everyone's spirits high with "it will get better if we just stick together until it gets better".   -- Michael from Maryland

Read more stories:

• $40 Means No Extras for My Students
• $40 Could Be the Difference Between Eating or Not Eating

2013 Transportation Budget: What It Means for You

Ed note: this post originally appeared on Fastlane, the official blog of the Department of Transportation

It has been more than two years and four months since America's transportation funding expired. Congress has extended the law with short-term patches eight different times. But, with bridges crumbling and highways choked with congestion, our nation needs the planning certainty that comes from a long-term transportation bill, a bill that puts people back to work rebuilding our roads, bridges, transit systems, and airports.

So this week, President Obama outlined a six-year surface transportation proposal–part of his blueprint for an America built to last. The transportation budget the President proposed has three broad goals:

• Creating jobs and investing in infrastructure for our future;
• Modernizing transportation through focused research and technology; and
• Pressing forward on our number one priority--safety.

An America built to last needs a strong transportation infrastructure.  Without the ability to move goods and people safely and efficiently, we're stuck standing still. That’s why the President’s budget will improve America’s highways, rail lines, and transit networks, allowing for growth and continuing to ensure that these systems are safe. 

Of the President’s proposal, $305 billion would fund road and bridge improvements. Now, that's a long overdue 34 percent increase over the previous transportation bill. And this proposal will also streamline and simplify our highway system by consolidating more than 55 different programs down to just five.